This invention relates generally to slot machines, also known as coin operated gaming machines, and more specifically to a new category of slot machines that enables a player to place a wager, or to change his or her wager, after an initial display of symbols is made visible to the player.
Slot machines are well known, and have been around for many years. A reel type video slot machine includes a plurality of symbols that are mapped on the periphery of a plurality of simulated rotating reels to form a playfield of n rows and m columns. The reels are randomly stopped and a win decision is made based on the combination of symbols occurring at one, or a plurality of winning lines (also known as pay lines). A new type of slot machines eliminates pay lines, and defines a winning combination based on the multiple occurrence of a symbol at any location at consecutive reels, rather than at a particular winning line that spans the reels (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,102). For a reel type slot machine, the number of reels employed varies from one reel per column to an individual reel for each playing position.
In the prior art of slot machines, the player is required to place a wager prior to activating a lever, or a start button that triggers the rotation of the reels. Further, the player is not permitted to increase said wager after the reels come to a complete stop, and revealing the occurring symbols at various pay lines or reels. When the reels come to a complete stop, a controller within the machine makes a determination if a winning outcome has occurred.
The current invention is related to a new category of slot machines, wherein a player can initiate a spin of the reels prior to placing a wager, and is permitted to place a wager, or change his or her wager, after the reels come to a complete stop. The player is provided with information on the specific symbols that occurred at the various playing positions after the stopping of the reels. However, the actual positions of symbols relative to winning lines, or reels, are hidden from the player, and are only made visible after the player has deposited the required wager. Alternatively, the player is initially provided with a subset of the occurring symbols, and the remaining symbols are hidden from the player until the player has deposited the required wager.